A British doctor has reportedly been detained by Syrian government forces
after entering the country to treat the wounded in rebel-held areas.

Syrian opposition activists said they believe Dr Abbas Khan is 31 years old and works as an orthopaedic specialist at an NHS hospital in south London.

He is said to have entered the country from Turkey, without a visa, on Nov 14 and worked at a field hospital in rebel-controlled Saraqeb, south-east of Idlib. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has connections to opposition groups inside the country, said it was told that Dr Khan was arrested with one or more other people at a government checkpoint on the way to Aleppo on Nov 22.

"He was not an armed combatant or a jihadist, he was only helping people," said a spokesman.

The Observatory said Dr Khan made an earlier trip to Saraqeb in August, helping rebel fighters and civilians injured in the fighting.

A Foreign Office official said: "We have had reports of the detention of a British national Dr Abbas Khan in Syria. We advise against all travel to Syria, and our consular services are suspended there. However we are working with the Hungarian embassy in Damascus to obtain further details."

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people remain trapped inside a besieged district of the city of Homs, surviving on only the most basic supplies, aid agencies and activists have reported.

For more than six months, blockades including government tanks have cut off the Old City area, leaving everyone inside with little food or medical supplies.

"We cannot move at all from our places. We are under siege. The regime is not allowing anyone out," said a rebel fighter calling himself Adnan, speaking to The Daily Telegraph from inside the Old City.

"We have been living like this for 171 days. Families are living on rice and flour.

"We don't have food now, we are suffering; we have not seen milk, or vegetable or meat in months. We would have a party if someone gave us a can of tuna."

As parts of Homs emerged as the heart of the rebel resistance a year ago, the areas have been the scene of devastating artillery bombardments and air strikes.

The narrow streets and ancient buildings of the Old City have been largely destroyed by months of continual fighting.